Recently,
some states passed initiatives to permit use of
marijuana for so-called "recreational" and
"medicinal"
purposes.

Just ask Colorado. Perhaps not so
awkwardly labeled the "Highest State," Colorado
pulled in $2 million in taxes related to the
sale of recreational marijuana...in January 2014
alone. Combined with taxes on sales from
medicinal marijuana, the state pulled in nearly
$3.5 million in pot-related tax revenue. If that
trend continues, the state will see more than
$40 million in additional tax dollars in 2014.
To put that in perspective, that's approximately
1% of the total annual budgets for Delaware,
South Dakota, Montana or West
Virginia.

The FMCSA has had
numerous inquiries about whether these state
initiatives will have an impact upon the
Department of Transportation's longstanding
regulation about the use of marijuana by
safety-sensitive
transportation employees - pilots, school bus
drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway
operators, aircraft maintenance personnel,
transit fire-armed security
personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency
response personnel, among others.

The FMCSA
wants to make it perfectly clear that the state
initiatives will have no bearing on the
Department of Transportation's regulated drug
testing program. The Department of
Transportation's Drug and Alcohol Testing
Regulation - 49 CFR Part 40 - does not authorize
the use of Schedule I drugs, including
marijuana, for any reason.

Therefore,
Medical Review Officers (MROs) will not
verify a drug test as negative based upon
learning that the employee used "recreational
marijuana" when states have passed "recreational
marijuana" initiatives.

We
also firmly reiterate that an MRO will not
verify a drug test negative based upon
information that a physician recommended that
the employee use "medical marijuana" when states
have passed "medical marijuana" initiatives.

It
is important to note that marijuana remains a
drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled
Substances Act. It remains unacceptable for any
safety-sensitive
employee subject to drug testing under the
Department of Transportation's drug testing
regulations to use marijuana.

We want to assure the
traveling public that our transportation system
is the safest it can possibly be.

DEA Makes Synthetic
Marijuana a Controlled
Substance

As first reported to
you in the April 10, 2010 Idealease Safety
Bulletin the use of synthetic marijuana sold
under the names of K2 and Spice and other names
as incense is available in the US and provides
the user the same effect as marijuana. The
Drug Enforcement Administration DEA has now
announced that synthetic marijuana is now a
controlled substance making it illegal to use by
a commercial motor vehicle
driver.

In
a Federal Register entry published Jan. 10, 2014
the DEA said the "synthetic cannabinoids" are
"an imminent hazard to the public safety," and
there are no medical uses for the synthetic
strains. Synthetic marijuana, according to
the DEA's Federal Register entry, is
"functionally similar" to the active ingredient
in natural marijuana - THC. The cannabinoids are
not organic, though, and are created in a
laboratory. Moreover, the DEA says, "the vast
majority of cannabinoids are manufactured in
Asia by individuals who are not bound by any
manufacturing requirements or quality control
standards."

The FMCSA prohibits a driver
from engaging in a safety-sensitive function
when the driver uses "any controlled substance"
except under the supervision of a licensed
medical practitioner. 49 CFR
382.213(a).

DOT drug tests, however,
do not test for synthetic marijuana, and many,
if not most, non-DOT drug testing regimens will
not detect synthetics. It is not known at this
point if the FMCSA intends to amend its drug
test to include these substances.

But
because synthetic marijuana is now a controlled
substance, motor carriers must prohibit its use
by drivers even if it not tested for at the
moment. Company policy should prohibit the
possession or use of synthetic marijuana. If a
driver involved in a crash is proven to have
used synthetic marijuana, that fact may be
considered evidence of negligence by both the
driver and the carrier.

The
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration has
one
mission:
safety. And to pursue that mission, we offer a
wide variety of useful services and important
information to bus and truck drivers, to carrier
companies, and to consumers.

Today, I am
proud to announce a significant advance
in getting those resources into your hands more
easily, our redesigned FMCSA website at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov./

You can read
more about the newly redesigned FMCSA website on
our Fast Lane
blog.

You can tour the new site today. The
short video guides you through
the renovation in a few minutes.

If you have any
questions about PSP or the site, please email us
at PSPHelp@egov.com.

News

May
21st Deadline is approaching for Motor Carriers
to use a Medical Examiner for DOT Physicals who
is certified and listed on the National
Registry!

To
see if the medical examiner you currently are
using is certified or to find a certified
examiner go to the following website: http://nrcme.fmcsa.dot.gov/

Roadcheck
America
is coming June 3-5, 2014....Driving the
Point
Home!

Roadcheck
is the largest targeted
enforcement program on commercial vehicles in
the world, with approximately 14 trucks or buses
being inspected, on average, every minute from
Canada to Mexico during a 72-hour period in
early
June.

April
4,
2014

Follow
Idealease online for current industry
news

Registration
is Now Open Online for the 2014 Idealease/NPTC
Safety Seminars

Idealease,
its affiliates and the National Private Truck
Council (NPTC) will again be hosting safety
seminars in 2014. The one-day seminars will
focus on basic safety and compliance, regulation
changes and CSA. The seminars will be available
to all Idealease customers, potential customers
and NPTC members at no charge. The seminar
provides important information applicable for
both the novice and experienced transportation
professionals.

To
view the schedule and register for an upcoming
seminar in 2014 click on the following
link:

The
Idealease Safety Bulletin is provided for Idealease
affiliates and their customers and is not to be
construed as a complete or exhaustive source of
compliance or safety information. The Idealease
Safety Bulletin is advisory in nature and does not
warrant, guarantee, or otherwise certify compliance with
laws, regulations, requirements, or guidelines of
any local, state, or Federal agency and/or governing
body, or industry standards.